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Announcement of JOCV dispatching to Indonesia

The Foundation Japan Rugby Football Union (President, Tasashi Okamura), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA, President, Shinichi Kitaoka) received the cooperation of, contribution activities "Asian Scrum project of the Asian Rugby tackle the Hay Association ". As part of the JICA volunteer project, we will dispatch rugby leaders to the Republic of Indonesia as follows:

In this dispatch, the following activities are planned,

1. Advice and recommendations on coaching methods for Indonesian coaches.

2. Support coaching staff activities as well as to guide the representative level of 15’s and 7’s for both men and women.

I will do my best for Indonesia focusing on the spirit of “all for one and one for all” and the spirit of “No side!”.

In addition, Higa will be dispatched as Memorandum of Understanding on JICA's Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and Ryutsu Keizai University.

Our association and JICA signed a collaboration agreement in July 2013 as "JICA-JRFU Scrum Project". We will continue to dispatch rugby leaders as JICA volunteers to contribute to the development of healthy young people in developing countries. At the same time, we will continue to plan for the development of human resources for stakeholders in our country.

International Cooperation Section - 1st Discussion

Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) Rugby DevelopmentInternational Cooperation Section held a discussion session on July 23rd.

The Study Council is formed by related groups of the Asian Scrum Project (ASP), with the aim of implementing effective projects and ongoing efforts of international cooperation through sports after 2020.

We will continue to cooperate with related groups so that we can implement better projects for ASP.

JOCV Rugby Members Returning to Japan Reports

Three rugby members from the Japan Overseas Corporation Volunteers arrived back to Japan after each spending 2 years in India, Kyrgystan and Sri Lanka. On July 10, returning members gave their activity reports. One member, who has been dispatched to Indonesia, presented his activity plans.

Kurume Yuhei was involved in finding and coaching a new rugby club at the National Sports Academy of Kyrgyzstan. It first started with 4 players, but as a result of steady activities, the number of players increased to 15. He was glad to see players who did not initially know how to play rugby continue to learn and practice. Eventually they learned the rules and how to play the game.

There were days when I was worried about who would be interested in rugby, but I thought about why I like rugby and the reasons were that I wanted to go to Kyrgyzstan as a volunteer. I was aware that having fun and developing different activities was the best way to learn rugby.

Mori Makoto was based at the Sports Promotion Section of Galle Country Office, Sri Lanka. He realized that children in Sri Lanka deeply enjoy sports. There are so many cultural experiences to share. For example, seeing players eating nuts off the tress during practice was very shocking. Recognizing and communicating other values and cultures was the most valuable lesson that he learned.

Tokutake Hiroki, who participated in a video conference, said that he felt a lot of affection through activities in India. One day he would like to to go back to India.

Higa Subaru, who will be dispatched to Indonesia, said that he would like to build a program that will spread rugby in Indonesia.

Questions for Kurume Yohei & Makoto Mori:

1. How should I prepare to go overseas and be a rugby member for JICA?

Kurume responded, "I did not prepare anything at all because I wanted to find everything with my own eyes”.

Mori responded, "Sri Lanka is a country of other ethnic religions, so knowing what not to do and taboos in advance will be very helpful”.

2. What are their plans in the future?

Both volunteers said that they wanted to get involved with the 2019 Rugby World Cup and/or 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. By participating in the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. Feeling towards rugby have become even stronger.

JOCVs' Friendly Rugby Match in India

Over a two day period from June 16 (Saturday) to 17 (Sunday), Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs), three of whom were dispatched to India and Sri Lanka in Oshika, Bhubaneswar, played an international friendly game.

At the event organized and hosted by the Indian Rugby Football Association, there was a rugby clinic run by Masatoshi Mukoyama, former Japan representative player participating in the event, youth overseas cooperation volunteer's presentation and presentation by the players' representatives from each team.

JOCVs' Comments

India: Hiroki Tokutake

The children I was coaching were worried about whether the Sri Lankan team would really come or not with tension and expectation as a host. I was also looking forward to seeing two of the same JOCVs like myself.

When the Sri Lanka team arrived, I was nervous at first and could not talk, but I gradually blended with them and had strong feelings about wanting to have the match. Through the presentation of JOCVs and the entire event, I was pleased that we were able to reconfirm what our coaches, our members and players themselves were working on over the last two years.

I never thought that the players who three of us coached would have a game so this project was just a dream match and I was very proud of my players regardless of the result of the game. I felt it was good to be a rugby crewmember for two years, and my relationship with the children got stronger.

Not only rugby, I think that sports are wonderful because sports have this excitement, and I hope my players with this experience will pass down what they learned to the next generation.

Sri Lanka: Yuri Ito

Because the preparation period was short and the number of practices we had was limited, I worked on practices with an emphasis on communication. The most difficult thing was getting passports and visas for players. We were not able to get all the necessary documents and some documents that we got were incomplete so I was always nervous about it. As soon as the players arrived at KISS, they were puzzled by the language barrier, but through practice they managed to find a way to communicate. In Sri Lanka, there are few opportunities to learn scrum professionally, so the forward players were stimulated by the enthusiastic scrum guidance of the Japanese coach.

I was able to receive guidance from a professional coach overseas for the first time and it was a good experience for every player. With the Friendly Match it was possible to play and win the difficult games without giving up to the end. I think that was also a valuable experience.

Besides winning the all games, players learned a lot of other skills such as ground manners. I myself felt that I could get along with anybody as soon as I said I like rugby even though the language and culture were different. I don’t have a lot of time left in Sri Lanka to coach rugby, but I will try to get the best out of everything until I go back.

Sri Lanka: Makoto Mori

For friendly matches, children started to concentrate more on practices and practiced five times a week. The number of children participating also increased and the children started to work on individual skills that they needed to work on, but most importantly the quality of the practice improved and the team became a unit.

Compared to Sri Lanka, India was very hot, but the children actively worked and fought to the end without giving up to Indian players who are more skillful in the game. The speed and skill sets of Indian players were a good stimulus. The girls' team in Sri Lanka had few opportunities to compete in the country, so it was a very good experience. The children from Sri Lanka were able to feel and see the level that Indian children were playing at and they said that they want to be better at it.

In relays and games organized by the children of both countries, it became possible to communicate with each other and they all said that they really enjoyed it and they would like to see each other again in the future.

In addition, the coaches who participated felt the differences in the environment especially how well they practiced. The Sri Lankan girl’s team who is not well equipped should be devised to upgrade their level in the future.

It was truly wonderful to see children from two different countries with two different cultures interact and cooperate together through rugby and witnessing both teams fighting desperately with each other's strength.

I really appreciate the support and efforts of the Friendship Match held.

Thank you very much.

Participant Wanted:JOCV Repatriation Report

Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) is involved in the "JICA-JRFU Scrum Project" that dispatches Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) and Senior Volunteers with rugby as a job in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

We are pleased to announce the activity report by three rugby members of the JOCV who returned from India, Kyrgyz and Sri Lanka after the two years of activity. At the same time, the presentation of the activity plan by one rugby member who will be dispatched to Indonesia from the following schedule, will be held.

If you are interested in international cooperation through rugby, please join us on this occasion.※ Please note that it will be a pre-registration system.

※ This report will be done only in Japanese.

Date and Time: July 10th, 2018 From 6pm to 8pm (Door opens at 5:30pm)Place: JICA Research Centre (in Ichigaya)

Tag Rugby Teacher Workshop at JICA NTC

The Tag Rugby Teacher Workshop at JICA Nihonmatsu Training Center:

On June 10th, the Tag Rugby Teacher Workshop was held at the JICA Nihonmatsu Training Centre in Fukushima for the candidate trainees.

The Tag Rugby Teacher Workshop the JICA training center was held for the third time. There were 14 candidate trainees; some will be dispatched to Indonesia for rugby and the others will be dispatched to 11 different countries in Asia and Africa to work at elementary schools and swimming facilities etc..

In developing countries, the recognition of rugby is not high. However, it is said that it is a sport that is accepted as a new sport without prejudice and can be started without having any previous experience. For this reason, men and women play together. Additionally, people who do not regularly exercise will have an opportunity to participate and exercise without feeling so conscious about it. It is also suitable as a tool to utilize in various situations to nurture team work and learn how to communicate.

Some comments from participants are: "3 hours of training went by in the blink of an eye" and "I would like to incorporate it into activities in my host country!"

Interview with Mr. Hiroki Tokutake(JOCV in India)

This is an interview with Mr. Hiroki Tokutake, a member of JICA's Volunteers (JOCV)*. Mr. Hiroki Tokutake has been spreading rugby around India (Bhubaneswar Odyshia). Ai Nakamura, from the Japan Rugby Football Union, International Cooperation Section, conducted the interview.

Could you please tell me about your responsibilities and activities?

I am coaching a rugby team at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS). The school was established to support training for minority groups between the ages of 9 and 23 years old. There are approximately 27,000 students in all the schools and over 500 rugby team members. However, there are only 2 coaches who have been dispatched to Bhubaneswar since the summer of 2016 as Overseas Cooperation Volunteer from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

I am surprised to hear that you are coaching 500 players. I don’t believe there is a coach in Japan who is coaching so many players.

KISS is an educational institution for disadvantaged children. Living and school expenses are covered by donation, and there is no economic burden to the students. The number of students is the largest in the world as a school that can study and live for free. I heard that it is published in the Guinness Book.

It is not possible to coach all the players at once, but I like to engage with as many players as possible.

Did you have any coaching experience before going to India?

No, I didn’t. I played rugby in high school and university, so I wanted to take advantage of my player's experience in coaching.

Could you please give me some examples? And what are some features of Japanese rugby?

Japanese rugby has the "One for all, all for one" and "No side" spirit. With this kind of spirit, KISS works on important values such as thanking the grounds keeper and arranging the balls after practice. When I started to work at the school, players were very quiet and quietly made passes during practice. Since rugby is a team sport, I continually emphasize the importance of respecting friends and teamwork, and now I hear a shouting call "Charo Charo!" (In Japanese, it means: "Come this way!" "Quick, quick!" and "Pass!") .

Your awareness is spreading. Is there anything else you have devised or struggled with?

As a characteristic of Indian people, they say they do what is is their mind no matter whom they are talking to. They also have a habit of not doing things that they don’t want to do. However, when they like something or have a motivation to do something, they do their best. When talking about rugby practice, they don’t like tackling practice, but they like offence/attack practice. Therefore, I have to be conscious about practice menus and make sure that there are “fun” components. Even though they have a habit of not doing things that they don’t want to do, they are very patient and have a strong mentality so although they don’t like to practice tackling, when it comes to a game, they go hard at their opponents to tackle which I admire.

I can feel that you respect the culture and people in India.

Indian people treat everyone equally and I sometimes feel like I am more myself than when I was living in Japan. I feel accepted and loved.

Are there any parts of you where you feel you have grown by coaching rugby as a JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteer?

When I came to KISS, I noticed that rugby is a sport that cannot be done without compassion. On the day my players played the game for the first time, the players said "Thank you", I felt this was the real pleasure of coaching and I thought to myself that I wanted to learn more rugby.

Mr. Toru Jinguji who coached you at university was dispatched from Japan as a coach of the Indian national team.

I was surprised from the beginning as I heard that the coach of the alma mater (Yamanashi Gakuin University) was coming to coach the Indian national team. I decided to apply for the Overseas Cooperation Volunteers myself, so I did not consult with Mr. Jinguji. In other words, this was the first time to see Mr. Jinguji since I graduated from university, but I was very happy that Indian Rugby was exposed and I wanted to support Mr. Jinguji as much as I could (mainly this time as an interpreter).

In July, you will return to Japan after completing the 2-year term, how will you use your experience upon your return?

All KISS students say the world has opened up through rugby. There are a quite few students who want to give back to KISS. I have become positive and I am very grateful to India for the experiences that I have been able to have. Someday I hope to visit India again and become the bridge between Japan and Indian rugby.

Mr. Tokutake said that he would be very happy if children enjoy playing rugby in the last 2 months of his time in India. From Tokutake's word, "I got a love from India", I heard proudness with gratitude, humbleness and respect.

For the 2019 Rugby World Cup, prevailing rugby in Asia is urgently needed. Japan Rugby Football Union will continue to support through the Asian Scrum Project so that children who have touched the pleasure of rugby by Mr. Tokutake will continue to be familiar with rugby. (Ai Nakamura, Japan Rugby Football Union, International Cooperation Section)

· Balls are old and used a lot so there is no grip and everything slips. The number of markers is small and there isn’t enough equipment to practice such as tackle dummies.

· Disk type markers brought from Japan were very useful, but local children playing disc markers as boomerangs, so even if you set them before practice, there are no disc markers in the place.

· Grand lines are set-up/marked by players. (Only for some special events, they get some help from children in the neighborhood. There are no marks of 22 m line or 10 m line so use surrounding resources such as trees as a marker.

· There are a few street-like lights available on the ground and it is not bright enough. However, strangely, even in the dark we can play a certain extent and for whatever reason, the players enjoyed playing in the dark.

· They always give priority to themselves, but as soon as something happened to their teammates, they would run to their teammates to make sure that everything is ok. Indian people are very passionate for their families and friends.

· Stray dogs were often found at the ground during practice and you would encounter many mosquitoes (like 100 of them).

Finally, I had three missions:

① Strengthen Indian national team

② Improve the Indian rugby culture

③ To become a bridge between Indian rugby and Japanese rugby

I do not know whether I achieved my mission.

I do not even know what I left to them.

However, the experiences that we had together were something that I am very proud of.

Indian rugby has a potential to be strong.

Why I say that? Because they enjoy playing the game.

I love Indian Rugby.

What I can say about this experience is that it doesn’t matter where you are from, where you go or what you do, rugby is rugby and rugby players are rugby players.

I crossed the ocean in order to contribute to the Indian national team, but I gained a valuable experience that I would like to study.

I would like to continue to exchange information and share knowledge so that I can continue to be the bridge between India and Japan.

Thank you for all the people involved in Indian rugby.

1 · 2 · 3 Bharat! !

2nd week: Activity Report in India(5/7-13)

I am getting used to the life in India and getting along with the players very well, therefore, my life is very satisfying.

In many ways, the Indian culture is different from the Japanese culture. For example, if I ask players in Japan to do a specific drill 5 times, completing the drill 5 times is important regardless of outcome. However, in India, if players are satisfied with an outcome before reaching 5 times, they will wrap up a practice, but if they are not happy with an outcome, they will say “one more time” until they are happy with the outcome. It is difficult to say which is better, but it is also at these moments that you realize their strength of their self-assertiveness.

I personally feel that there are a lot that Japanese rugby players can learn from the Indian culture to be better and compete at the highest level.

The squad for the Thailand tour has been chosen through two selection matches. Currently, we are making final adjustments for the game. We have our morning training at 6:30am and evening training at 5:30pm as India's daytime temperature exceeds 40 degrees or higher although it is around 30 degrees when we have training sessions. The key to strength training in India has been the need for new ideas and variations for training methods. In other words, improving skills for coaches.

There are a lot of tasks in order to win, but I'd like to bring the team in a simple fashion and have good matches against Thailand and Chinese Taipei.

1st week: Activity Report in India(4/30-5/6)

Life in India is a series of precious experiences and something unexpected happens every day. Therefore, how to get over the current situation happily is one of themes of my life in India.

I run a series of practices such as Defence, Breakdown, Off road, Handling and Unit practice which I pick and choose as needed. However, after being here for a while, we don’t only focus on individual skills, but we also focus on weaknesses and turn them around as their strengths.

Seeing them every day makes our relationship closer, but I have also realized that by me trying to speak a little Hindu, I have been successful in making them feel relaxed during the practice.

Off the field, there are only words of gratitude to the players. They are very welcoming and warm because they invite me to their home, take me to Taj Mahal and so on.

I did not know anything about rugby in India and the national team before coming, but they work very hard and are positive which reminds me of the grass root of rugby.

I would like to do my best to be a bridge between India Rugby and Japan Rugby.

Dispatching a coach to India national team

As part of the Asian Scrum Project, the Japan Rugby Football Union will dispatch a coach as follows based on the request from the Indian Rugby Football Union.

•Rugby Indian national team band to Asian Rugby Championship Div-2 to be held in Thailand

Comment from Toru Jinguji: I will do my best to contribute to Indian rugby. In addition, I would like to be a bridge between Indian rugby and Japanese rugby.

JICA volunteers' world diary (Madagascar)

"JICA volunteers' world diary" is the blog that tells you how JICA volunteers are doing around the world. Yuki Nakano who is in Madagascar has some report on life in Madagascar and how rugby is and rugby activities that he has been working on.

For more details, please click here. (Source JICA)(The site has japanese language only)

The new vision of the Asian Scrum Project

At Japan Rugby Football Union, we are promoting the "Asian Scrum Project" which has spread rugby throughout Asia since 2011.

With the RWC 2019 being held next year, the Japan Rugby Football Union International Cooperation Section has the new vision for the Asian Scrum Project "Engage, Asia!" which will spread rugby to the world from Asia.

【Vision】

Engage, Asia!

“Asia and Japan Rugby inspire the world through the Spirit of Rugby!”

【Goals】

1. Development of rugby in Asia

2. Deepening mutual understanding and symbiosis through rugby

3. Social return by human resources nurtured through participation experience

【Core Spirit】

The Asian Scrum Project is based on four core spirits listed in "Japan Rugby Strategic Plan 2016-2020".

1. One for All, All for One

2. Spirit of 'No Side'

3. Innovation and Hard Work

4. Diversity and Teamwork

【Sustainable development goals（SDGs）】

In the Asian Scrum Project, we are addressing the following three goals, among 17 goals of sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development.

Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning

Obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development.

Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

While the world has achieved progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment under the Millennium Development Goals (including equal access to primary education between girls and boys), women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and violence in every part of the world.

RKU:JICA short-term volunteer rugby activities

From February 19th to March 17th, we visited Jakaruta, Bojonegoro Yogyakarta and Palembang in Indonesia to disseminate rugby for over 3,000 people.

Before leaving to Indonesia and in order for us to operate our missions smoothly, we divided our missions into 4 categories; "coaching", "medical strength & conditioning", "referee · analysis" and "dissemination". Moreover, we used “why”, “what” and “how” method to have clear visions of how to achieve our goals.

For the first few days after arriving in Jakarta, we met with the Vice Chairman of the Indonesian Rugby Union to understand the current state of Indonesian rugby and the goals for the rugby union.

Before leaving to Indonesia, we often had meetings about dissemination activities and thought we were ready. However, once we arrived to Indonesia, we tried to communicate with the local people but we had some difficulties communicating with them. On top that, there were more tasks than we anticipated to do.We now have a better understanding of the difficulty of disseminating activities.

There were many things that could not be conveyed in words, but we used body languages, gestures and a little bit of Indonesian language to communicate. Therefore, we were able to deliver the disseminated activities that we wanted to.

We were very pleased about the attitude that children from elementary to university had towards to rugby. Because of that, we enjoyed working and disseminating rugby with them.

The schools that we visited seemed to have some differences in the environments, but no matter what the environments were, everyone seemed to enjoy rugby.

We learned and gained a lot while we were in Indonesia and I would like to thank everyone who was involved in the project.

Activity Place：Indonesia(Jakaruta, Bojonegoro Yogyakarta and Palembang)Dispatch Period：From February 19th to March 17th

Asian Scrum Project: Report from the JOCV

■Yohei Kurume (In Kyrgyzstan since 2016)Destination: Kyrgyz national sports academyCoached students between the ages of 16 to 22, three times a week, at the Kyrgyz national sports academy as well as played in outside tournaments with neighboring countries (Uzbekistan / Kazakhstan).

Message from Yohei Kurume:“Let’s try!” spirit is something that I found very valuable.

Make the best of going abroad for 2 years! Rugby will help you grow and I can say that I have changed myself over the last 2 years. For example, the way I think, how I get to close to people and how I feel happy about small things.

If you want to make changes in your life or if you want to get yourself involved in rugby, but do not know how and where to start, I highly recommend applying for this opportunity.

What people have to do to change themselves is to "change their environment."

Just try it before you think about it too much!

■Yuri Ito (In Sri Lanka since 2016)Destination: Central Province Rugby UnionCoached students between the ages of 10 to 20, six times a week, in and around Kandi city as well as spread girls’ rugby.

Message from Yuri:I have realized two things that I had forgotten about by seeing kids practice every day. The first is why they play rugby and the second is that rugby is fun!

By sending coaches, we can be involved in the development of rugby across the border in Asia. This is a great opportunity for you to get involved!

Coached students between the ages of 10 to 20 at the local club. Some players who he coached represented the U – 18 National team. Teams that he coached changed every month and he has coached 6 teams in total.

Message from Tadaaki:As a player, I was never chosen for any rep teams, but I applied for this position because I love rugby. In addition, I had never coached rugby until I went to Uzbekistan, however, I took coaching workshops, which got me ready and feeling confident about going to Uzbekistan.

Recently, I’ve realized that the same areas which have led to my personal growth have been the same areas that have led to the improvements of this country. Having kids love rugby more is motivating and I will continue to work hard with local coaches and we will work towards raising the level of both coaches and athletes.

JICA Recruitment Notice for Laos and India

JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Recruitment Notice for Laos and India (Application Perido: From April 2nd to noon on May 1st)

JICA is looking for volunteers to go to India or Laos for rugby-related work.

The application period is from April 2nd to noon on May 1st.

Please refer to the JICA Volunteer Page for details about the application method.

2. Help coaching local club teams and national team as well as coaching local and national level coaches.

3. Coach school children and coaches in other areas/regions.

Qualification Requirements：3 years or more of playing experience. WR Coaching level 1 or higher （possible to acquire the coaching license after passing）

2）Sri Lanka

Destination：Sri Lanka Rugby Union (Avissawella)

Dispatch Period：After December, 2018 (for 2 years)

Responsibilities/Duties：

1. Planning and implementation of rugby lessons/events for beginners.

2. Help coaching local club teams and national team as well as coaching local and national level coaches.

3. Coach school children and coaches in other areas/regions.

Qualification Requirements：3 years or more of playing experience. WR Coaching level 1 or higher （possible to acquire the coaching license after passing）

3）Laos

Destination：Lao Rugby Federation

Dispatch Period：After December, 2018 (for 2 years)

Responsibilities/Duties：

Be part of the Lao Rugby Federation, which is located in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, to disseminate rugby for children in schools and surrounding communities. In addition, you will work closely with leaders who disseminate rugby and help the national team in any possible capacity.

Qualification Requirements：5 years or more of playing experience, WR Coaching Level 1 or higher （possible to acquire the coaching license after passing）

1. Support for improving the competitiveness of athletes through improving training & workshops, and improving the leadership skills of local coaches.

These duties will take place in the morning of Monday to Saturday between 6:00am to 7:00am and in the evening between 4:00pm to 6:00pm

2. Travel outside the provinces for tournaments.

3. Operation support at various IRFU and GRFA events and conventions.

4. Training camps’ support for the provincial and national team.

Qualification Requirements: 3 years or more years of playing experience. Coaching experience is an asset.

Iwate Kamaishi Collaboration Rugby Program

A Rugby Exchange and Clinic was held in Galle in Sri Lanka as part of the "Impact Beyond 2019" and "Asian Scrum Project" for children from Sri Lankan and Indonesian through International Contribution Program; “Sport for Tomorrow” with the collaboration of Kamaishi city; one of the 12 hosting cities (in Iwate prefecture).

At the clinic, there were 100 children from three different schools and basic rugby skills were taught. Also, before and after the rugby clinic, seminars on disaster prevention were held and knowledge on evacuation from the tsunami was shared with a visit to the local city hall and disaster control centre.

Besides, there was a visit to the beach to have a better understanding on current sports tourism.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, basic-rugby-skill clinic was held for 90 players.

In Puramuka Island, rugby exchange was held with 30 children and like Sri Lanka, before and after the rugby exchange, disaster prevention seminars were held.

In addition to the promotion of rugby, these new efforts at solving interregional issues such as "disaster prevention" and "sports tourism" by utilizing the rugby network were implemented in this trip. Seminars and site visits could not have happened without the support of rugby officials and the government officials as well as the JICA volunteer(Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers) that are dispatched in those countries. JRFU would like to continue developing the Asian Scrum Project while utilizing the power of rugby in various ways.

Rugby & Coaching Clinic in Thailand

A Rugby and Coaching clinic and tournament were held in Mukdahan Province in Thailand on Feb 2nd and 3rd as part of the "Impact Beyond 2019" and "Asian Scrum Project" for players and coaches from Thailand and Laos through International Contribution Program; “Sport for Tomorrow”

There were 46 participants from Laos, about 100 participants from nearby areas and local Mukdahan province and learned about rugby and rugby coaching while deepening friendship.

During the clinic, Ms. Aoi Mimura who was one of the guest coaches gave a lecture about the spirit of “One for all, All for one” which she used “scrum” as an example of the spirit as everyone including your opponents have to bind together.

Another guest coach, Ms. Saki Minami talked about the important of friendship that you make through rugby and rugby events as the spirit of “No Side”.

With the support of the tourism bureau and police, local rugby and government officials were very much involved in this event.

The deputy governor of Mukdarhan Province, who came to greet the participants at the opening ceremony expressed his appreciation for not only Japan, but also for the related parties. The passion of the local and government officials and their willingness to spread rugby was the foundation and at the heart of this event

Japan Rugby Football Union will continue to work on spreading rugby across Asian countries.

February 2nd: Coaching Clinic, Rugby Clinic and Lectures on the Japanese Rugby Spirit

February 3rd: Rugby Clinic, Rugby Training and Touch Rugby tournament

Coach dispatching to the Republic of Madagascar

With the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA, Chairman, Shinichi Kitaoka), and as part of the International Cooperation Project of our union, we will dispatch a rugby coach to the Republic of Madagascar as follows, said Japan Rugby Football Union (Chairman · Masao Okamura)

Expected activities:

1.Teach rugby skills and social discipline to youth at rugby centers and/or school.

3.Participate in seminars for coaches organized by the union and propose effective physical and technical training methods.

At this time, a volunteer will dispatch as JICA Youth Overseas Cooperation Volunteers who is between 20 to 39 years of age and will be able to utilize his/her skills and experiences based on requests from developing countries.

JRFU and JICA signed a collaboration agreement in July 2013 as "JICA-JRFU Scrum Project". We will continue to dispatch rugby coaches as JICA volunteers to contribute to the development of healthy young people in developing countries and at the same time plan to develop human resources for stakeholders in our country.

Name: Yuki Nakano

Hometown: Osaka

Destination: Republic of Madagascar

Assigned destination: Madagascar Rugby Union

Dispatch period: September 26, 2017 to September 25, 2019

Comment from Yuki Nakano: I will try hard to spread rugby and try to spread the world through rugby.